Apparatus for handling sheet metal



Feb. 1l, 1930. E. R. KNAPP 1,745,536

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEET METAL Original Filed June 16. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 6 /GAQf/Q ATTORNEYS www A i m Feb. 11, 1930.

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INVENTOR um ATTORNEYS Feb. 11, 1930. E. R. KNAPP APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEET METAL Original Filed June le, 192e 8 sheets-sheet 7 INVENTOR WP MMM@ BY Wm SQ/VQA ATTORNEYS Feb. l1, 1930. E. R. KNAPP APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEET METAL Original Filed June l. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented Feb. i171,- 1930 y I UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE EDWIN E. ENAP?, or SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY, .assrsNoE To corran PLATE SHEET AND TUBE COMPANY, or NEW Yong, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEET 'METAL original application med 'Julie 16,"`i926, serial Nq. 116,487. .Dividea and this application me'a June 15, l

. 192s. lserial No. 285,763.

This invention relates to apparatus for treatino sheet metal, and is a division df my copendlng application, Serial No. 116,487, filed June 16, 1926;z a

l In the said application I have disclosed a system for treating metal sheets in which the sheets are conveyed successively through` the Various 'apparatus in arched form, and are pickled, washed, dried and annealed. The claims of said application are directed tothe means for pickling and washing the arched sheets.

The present application is directed to the sheet 'flattening mechanism, and to' auxiliary handling apparatus employed in the systemV disclosed in my said copending application.

`An object of the present invention is the provision of means'for flattening or decrowning arched sheets.

A further object is the provision of aligning means adapted to engage the lateral edges of an arched sheet 'and prevent the corners of the sheet from separating as it passes from the arching mechanism toa conveyor.

conveyor to a decrowning mechanism.

1n the accompanying drawings, I have.

lshown one formof the invention. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a lan view of the arching mechanism showing the aligning devices associated with the discharge end thereof;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; A Fig. 3 is a plan view of the straightening rollers and the mechanism for rotating the metal sheets;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, longitudinal, sectional view of part`of the apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 4; y g

Figs. 6 and 7 are plan views of parts of the apparatus shown inv Figs. 3 and 4;

Figs. B and 9 are plan views, partly in section, of parts of the apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 4; I 50 Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical, sectional previously submitted to a pickling operation,

A. further object is the provision of means fY d l' a hed beets from a furnacev or e wermg rc s ried by stub shafts mounted'on yokes or supview of certain details shown in Figs 8 and 9; j l

Fig. 11 is a plan view, partly in section, of the decrowning mechanism, showing the outlet end of the furnace and showing the auxiliary. conveyor between the furnace and the ydecrowning mechanism;

l Fig. 12 is a longitudinal, sectional view on line 12-12 of Fig. 11, and Fig. 13 is a transverse, vertical, sectional View on line 13--13A of Fig. 12. l

In employingthe apparatus disclosed herein, sheets are arched and passed through i a furnace to anneal these. They may be 65. and a suitable surface coating may be applied to the sheets before annealing. This surface coating, which may be omitted if desired, may be applied by meansof suitable apparatus, such as the coating machine shown in 7o the patent to William' E. Watkins, No. 1,295,819 granted' February 25, 1919. In 1 of the drawings the coating rolls are shown at 204. The aligning devices are .shown'in conjunction with suitable arching 1 mechanism consisting of two sets of disks 214 carporting beams 215. These disks 214 are not power driven. Their function is to holdV the edges of the sheets down while the center is gg being forced up by the larger toothed disks 216 carried by the lower supporting lbeam 217. The forward ends of the upper supporting beams 215 are journaled on the-transverse shaft 218 and the ycorresponding end of the lower supportin beam 217 is journaled about the transverse s aft 219. The rear ends of the upper supporting beams 215 are adjustably mounted on a transverse beam 220. A similar adjustment indicated at 221 is provided for the .lower supporting beamv 217. The shafts carrying the lower disks 216 are interconnected b'y a driving chain 222 and powerfor driving these disks is supplied from a shaft of the coatingmachine by means of the chain 223 and gearing shown at 224 and 2243.

After the sheets have been arched'by the action of the toothed disks 214 and 216, they are delivered to the converging, guide con; 10'

' sheets closer together so thatthef-sheets can be delivered in proper form to the furnace conveyor. Screw-threaded adjusting rods A232 and 233, connected to hand'wlieels 234 and 235 respectively, constitute means for adjusting the distance between the ends of the converging conveyors 225 and 226 to accommodate sheets of various widths. If it is desired to have the delivery end of each of the converging conveyors extend substantially parallel with the direction of travel of the sheets, then guiderollers 236 and 237 can be arranged as shown in Fig. 1. 'Satisfactory results can be obtained without einploying these auxiliary rollers.

The furnace conveyor constitutes a series of interconnected links, eachprovided with a cross-arm 238, having a number of upwardly projecting lingers 239 on each end thereof.

Each arm is provided with a number of theseV projections' 239, inorderthat the conveyor may be suitable for handlingslieets of different widths. y

I prefer to provide some meansfor positively feeding the sheet-s from the converging conveyors 225 and 226 onto the furnace conveyor. A satisfactory device for accomplishing this result comprises a pair of wheels 240 and 241, inclined at an angle to the ldirection of travel, .as illustrated in Fig. 1. These wheels are provided with blades, and the inclined surfaces of theseA blades are so formed that-straight-line contact is established between the blades and the edges of the advancing sheets. These wheels 240 and 241 are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig 2, and serve to simultaneously press down the edges of the advancing sheets and urge the sheets forward. Power is supplied to these Wheels through the'systems of gearing illustrated at 242 and 243. 'These gear systems or trains are connected to the shaftV 244, which carries the lfurnace conveyor sprocket wheel 245. The shaft 244 is driven by the furnace conveyor. The in clined guide wheels 240 and 24T. are journaled in mounting pieces 246 and 247, secured to a crossbeam 248.

The sheets are then assed through the furnace (not shown), an are then ready for the decrowning operation. At the discharge end, the furnace conveyor carries the annealed sheets intoa delivery casing shown at 264, in 12. This casing enclhses an auxiliary conveyor shown at 265. ywhich serves to piel: the sheets oft' from the' furnace conveyor'and deliver them to the decrowning mechanism.

The delivery chamber 264 and the decrowning .mechanism are all in open communication with the furnace chamber/1249. ,The chamber 264 isprovided with a 'lid'264, which can Kbe removed for the purpose of observing the operation of the furnace conveyorand the auxiliary conveyor 265 and making any neces-y sary adjustments or repairs.

The decrowning mechanism comprises two sets of rollers shown'. at 266 and 267. The sheets are carried forward by the rollers 267 and are spread out flat as they come in contact with the upper set of rollers 266. The rollers 267 are-provided near their ends with collars 267, best shown in' Fig. l1, which prevent the sheets'from traveling too much to either side. The decrowningoi' flattening rollers deliver the plates to the straightening rollers indicated at`268. lThe two sets of rollers 266 and 267 aie interconnected by means of sprocketwheels and a chain 269,

.power being supplied to these rollers through gearing illustrated at 270 in Fig. 11.

Referring again tov the auxiliary conveyor 265, I prefer to construct thetrack supports for this conveyor'in such a manner that the conveyor can be adequately cooled. In Fig.

13, I have illustrated a track structure at 271,

forming a hollow chamber through which water can be circulated for cooling theconvevor elements as they pass along the track.

n the complete process described in my copending application N o. 116,487, the annealing step is followed vby cooling and white pickling. fis the sheets are again arched prior to the white pickling operation, it is again necessary to decrown'them. After the sheets leave the white washing apparatus and the decrowning mechanism associatedtherewith (not shown), they are fed between. straightening rollers of the usual type, illustrated at 307 in Figs. 3 and 4. This serves to straighten the sheets in the direction of tra-vel.

In order that the sheets may be straightened laterally. I prefer to employ an apparatus for rotating each sheet 90o and then passing the sheet forward through a second set of straightening' rolls. I have illustrated such a second set of straightening rolls at 308.

'Ihe improved rotating mechanism includes a conveycr having chains 309 and 310 at each side thereof arranged to pass over sprocket Wheels 311 and 312, located near the straightening rolls 307 and 308 respectivelly. The chains 309 and 310 carry transverse rods 313 (see Fig. 8l. each provided with a pluralitv of collars 314. Each of the rods 313 is formed in two pieces interconnected at the center with a mounting piece 315 which carries a rotatably mounted Wheel 316 having its axis atright angles to the rod. Between each set of collars 314 I have provided abearing wheel mounted so as to be free to rotate about the rod and provided around its periphery7 With a plurality of small rotatably mounted disks 318 adapted to rotate about axes at right measles angles to the rods 313. The wheels mounted between the collars 314 are shown at 3173, 317", 317 C and 3171. These wheels, with their disks 318, constitute what may be termed universal bearing members for supporting the sheets delivered to the conveyor by the straightening rollers 307.

It will be understood that as the conveyor moves forward in the direction indicated by the arrows e and e of Fig. 8, the sheets are carried forward on the conveyor. Each sheet can be rotated on the conveyor by causing the wheels 317a and 317" to rotate in the directions indicated by the curved arrows shown near these wheels in Fig. 8, and by causing the wheels 317c and 317d to rotate in the opposite direction, as indicated bythe curved arrows located close to these wheels in Fig. 8. The sheets then pivot about the central wheels 316 and rotate through the desired angle, depending upon the adjustment ofthe apparatus. After the sheet has been rotated through a predetermined angle, one edge of the sheet strikes the guide member 319 and the sheet is carried forward in proper alignment with the straightening rollers 308. After the sheets pass through these straightening rollers, they are ready for shipment.

The apparatus 1 prefer to employ for the purpose of causing the wheels 3172*, 317", 317c and 317d to rotate as above described, includes four belts, 320, 321, 322 and 323. lhese belts are arranged so that they pass under the shafts 313 and engage the wheels carried by these shafts. rl`hesebelts are driven by pulleys 324,

325, 326 and 327. Each pulley is mounted on a stub shaft connected to a gear, the gears being shown at 328, 329, 330 and 331. These gears are driven by intermediate gears 332, 333, 334 and 335, carried by adjustable yokes. one of which is illustrated at 336 in Fig. 'lhese intermediate gears mesh with gears 337, 338. 339 and 340. mounted on a drive shaft 341. By properly selecting the intermediate gears, the belts 320, 321, 3224 and 323 can be driven at the desire-d differential speeds. For example, these gears can be chosen so that the heit 320 will travel forward at half the speed of the chain 309. l have illustrated this fact b v showing an arrow a, close to the belt 320, this arrow being half as' long as the arrow e. which represents the speed of the chain 309. ln like manner, the belt 321 can be driven at a speed equal to 3/4 of the speed ot the chain 309, this being represented by the arrow b. Since the belts 320 and 321 move at a slower rate than the conveyor chain 309, the wheels 317ya and 317b, which come in contact with these belts, are caused to rotate as indicated by the curved arrows shown near these wheels in Fig. 8.

ln likemanner, the belt 322 can be caused to move forward at a speed equal to 11/4 times J'hat of the conveyor chains, and accordingly .l have shown the arrow c of a length equal to 1%: times that of the arrows e and e. The belt 323 can be caused to move forward at a speed equal to 11/2 times that of the conveyor chains, as illustrated by the arrow d. Since the belts 322 and 323 move forward at a higher speed than the conveyor chains, thewheels 317c and 317d are caused lto rotate in the reverse direction, as indicated by the curved arrows shown close to these whee s.

The belts 320, 321, 322 and 323 pass over pulleys 342, 343, 344 and 345, each carried by an adjusting block, the position of which can be changed by turning the hand wheels 346, 347, 348 and` 349. rlhe tension of the belts can be adjusted by turning these hand wheels. Two similar sets of pulleys are shown at 350 and 351, these pulleys having their centers f located somewhat above the center line of the rllhis active portion of the conveyor system is shown at f in Fig. 4.

ln order that each of the belts may be firmly supported throughout the period of contact with the conveyor wheels, l have provided the apparatus which is shown in detail in Figs. 5, (land 7. 'Secured to each of the blocks carrying the pulleys 350 and 351, l have provided a set of blades shown at 356 and 357. Each set of blades is firmly held at one end by the pulley Ablock associated therewith., and the free ends of adjacent sets of blades can be adjusted toward and away trom each other by adjusting the positions of the pulley blocks, as described above. These fre-e ends are supported within guide blocks shown at 358, each of which is provided with ychannels or passages adapted to receive the plates. as illustrated in 1Slt-lig. 6.

l claim:

1. ln an apparatus for handling metal sheets, means for arching each sheet, a conveyor arranged to receive theiarche-d sheets and convey them in arched form, andl a pair of rotatable aligningdevices for preventing the front and rear corne-rs of each sheet from spreading as they leave the arching/means. thesaid aligning devices being arranged to engage only the lateral edges of the sheets.

2. ln an apparatus for handling metal sheets. means for arching each sheet, a conveyor arranged to receive the arched sheets and convey7 them in arched form, a pair of rotatable aligning devices for preventing the front and rear corners of each sheet from spreading as they leave the arching means., and means :tor rotating said aligning devices,

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the said devices being arranged so that they engage only the lateral edges of each sheet, and so that they press these edges downward and forward. v

' 3. In an apparatus for handling metal sheets, means for arching each sheet, a con- `veyor arranged to receive the arched sheets and convey them in arched form, and-a pair of aligning wheels arranged near the delivery end of the arching means with the plane of each wheel at an langle to the direction ofr an auxiliary conveyor for transferring the arched sheets from the furnace conveyor to the decrowning mechanism, the auxiliary conveyor being constructedand arranged so that it. delivers the sheets to the decrowning mechanism over a smaller gap than that between the furnace conveyor andthe decrowning mechanism.

5. Apparatus for rotating metal sheets, comprising a set` of rods, a wheel rotatably mounted on each side of one section of each rod, and means `for rotating the wheels on one side of said section in one direction, and for rotating the other Wheels in the opposite direction.

Apparatus for rotating metal sheets, comprising a set of rods, a wheel rotatably mounted on each side of one section of cach rod., means for rotating the Wheels on one side of said section in one direction, and for rotating the other wheels in the opposite direction, and a plurality of disks rotatably mounted around the periphery of each of said wheels with .the axes ot' said disks at right angles to said rods. y

7. Apparatus for rotating metal sheets, comprising a set of rods, a wheel rotatably mount-ed on each side of one section of each rod, means for rotating the wheels .on one side ot'sad section in one direction, and for ro-l tating the other wheels in the opposite direction, and a wheel rotatably mounted at the said section of each rod with its axis at right angles to the rod.

matassa right angles to the rod.

9. Apparatus for handling metal sheets,

comprising a pair of conveyor chains, a plul rality oftransverse rods carried by the said chains, ja' plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on each side of the center of each rod, the wheels on the several rods being arranged in rows, a plurality of endless belts arranged one.- under each row of wheels, means for driving the conveyor chains, means for drivingthe belts at selected speeds, and means for supporting the belts in contact with certain of said wheels.

10. Apparatus for handling metal sheets comprising a pair of conveyor chains, a plurality of transverse rods carried by the said chains, 4'a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on each side of the center of each rod, thewheels on the several rods being arranged in rows, a plurality of endless belts arranged one under each row of wheels, means for driving the conveyor chains,

means for driving the belts at selected speeds,

and means for supporting the belts in contact with certain'of said wheels, the said supporting means being adjustable to vary the number of Wheels in contact with the belts.

11. Apparatus for handling metal sheets,

comprising a pair of conveyor chains, a pluralityof transverse rods carried by the said chains, a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on each side of the center of each rod, the Wheels on the several rods beingarranged in rows, a plurality of endless beltsarranged one under each row of Wheels, means for driving the conveyor chains, means for driving the belts at selected speeds, and means for supporting the belts in contact with certain of said wheels, the said supportingmeans coinprising a pair of adjustable blocks and a set of blades carried by each block and adapted to intermesh with each other.

12. Apparatus for handling metal sheets, comprising a pair of conveyor chains, a plurality of transverse rods carriedy by the said chains, a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on each side of the center of each rod, the wheels on the several rods being arranged in rows, av plurality of endless belts arranged one under each row of Wheels, means for driving the conveyor chains, means for driving the belts at selected speeds, means for supporting the belts in contact with certain of said wheels, the said supporting means comprising a pair of adjustable blocks and a set ofblades carried. by each block and adapted to intermesh with each other, and a guide block. for supporting the inter; meshing blades.

:ln testimony whereof l aiiix my signature.

EDWlN R. KNAPP. 

